Essendant has signed a build-to-suit lease with Wonderful Real Estate for 405,299 square feet of industrial space at Wonderful Industrial Park (WIP) in Shafter, Calif., 10 miles northwest of Bakersfield. Upon completion, the building will serve as a local and regional fulfilment, e-commerce and distribution center for the office supplies wholesaler. Located directly north of the intersection of Santa Fe Way and 7th Standard Road, the warehouse is slated for completion during the second quarter of next year. The lease was brokered by a Jones Lang LaSalle team.

“Essendant completed a thorough evaluation of the Central Valley and selected WIP for its favorable business and community environment, close proximity of qualified labor and a reliable developer/owner with successful track record on deliveries,” said Joe Vargas, president of Wonderful Real Estate, in prepared remarks.

WIP is a 1,600-acre master-planned park which currently consists of 12 existing properties currently occupied by tenants ranging from FedEx to Target. Another 20 buildings are also in various stages of planning, in addition to a one million-square-foot speculative warehouse—currently under construction and expected to be completed by March 2018. The rail-served park is located approximately five miles away from both California Route 43 and the Golden State Highway.

The Jones Lang LaSalle team that arranged the deal was led by Mike McCrary, Peter McWilliams and Mac Hewett.